


Alifer

by MechaNishishi



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince Kokichi Ouma, Shuuichi Saihara isn't human, Spells & Enchantments, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-09 22:23:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15277452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MechaNishishi/pseuds/MechaNishishi
Summary: Shuuichi has a routine life. Alone. Kokichi Ouma ruins that life in the worse way possible.





	1. Chapter 1

Shuuichi Saihara lived a simple life of routine. Everyday happened in a very similar manner, being routinely boring, and repeatitively peaceful. And while it was calm, it was also lonely. But it was his life, the only one he would ever have. Shuuichi would always be alone because being around people -no matter how he yearned for it- could only end in him suffering greatly. His life was to be lived alone, and to fight against that would end in a painful death he wasn't ready for. 

So he stayed alone, no one caring for his isolation as they had no qualms with letting the outcasted creature die alone. One might wonder what Shuuichi had done to receive so much hatred and the answer was quite easy to find. While it was not for a horrific crime or because he was a ticking bomb just waiting to harm others, the answer was found the moment someone looked at him. It was as plain to see as the wings sprouting from his back, in fact it was the wings on his back that had outcasted him.

The feathery appendages made it clear that he wasn't human, that he was an Alifer. Yes, he was gazed upon as a creature with the wings on par with a birds and magic more powerful than most humans could produce. His magic, known as Elementa, granted him domain over many types of ability, even if he was most proficient with ice related magics. Shuuichi wasn't just an Alifer however, he was the only of his kind left in the living realm. Even as the only remaining, humans seemed to hate the species stronger with every set of the sun. 

Shuuichi had never quite been sure what made humans hate him so much, magic was a shared ability between both races and wings did little but alter their appearance and allow them flight. He wasn't violent towards them either, quietly existing in his home, a lovely little village that held more fair thoughts about him, even if they kept wary. He had even given up hope of saving his species, knowing how a human would never mate with him under any circumstance. Giving up on having more Alifers had crushed him, but he quickly grew accustom to the fact that one day he would die and the humans would be happy with that.

Shuuichi was fairly certain he was going to die very soon, if the brunette woman beside him was any indication. Minutes prior, she had made her way into his house, giving a curt introduction of "Maki Harukawa, here upon Prince Kokichi's direct orders." She had been completely straight-faced, a dull look in her eyes that still remained as she navigated the Alifer towards the kingdom's castle. Other than those words, she had said nothing. Beforehand, the guard woman had used rune magics to transport the two not far from the large towering home of the Prince and Princess, and had quickly began pulling the boy through large streets with people who didn't care to keep their mouths shut. It was plenty of nobles with snide comments, expressing how lucky it was that a royal guard had found such a wild animal.

Every word they said made Shuuichi much more nervous than he had been, he still had no idea what was going on, and being around so many people was a foreign thing to him. He was brimming with anxiety, but opted to stay silent about his less than favourable opinion of these events as the woman escorting him was less than talkative.

The pair arrived at the castle and Maki had dragged Shuuichi to a darker, cooler area of the building. She halted in front of a chocolate brown door. "Go in whenever." She made known. The woman had a soft aura around her, but Shuuichi couldn't see anything emotion dripping through her eyes, no matter how hard he looked.

After peering into her eyes for a moment, he realized she most likely didn't want him staring stupidly at her. With little reason to stand awkwardly outside of a door all day, Shuuichi went into what he learned was a bedroom, a very purple one at that. The walls were lilac, bedsheets magenta, and various shelves and an accompanying desk shaded lavender. The only pop of colour, not being a variety of violet, was that of a pale-skinned boy, sitting gingerly on the bed as he toyed with an amethyst encrusted crown. A smile played onto his lips as Shuuichi timidly closed the door behind him. His hair shared purple with the room, eyes as well. A simple white outfit with golden details scattered in it's design. He set the crown onto his head, nestling the jeweled accessory in his dark locks.

Shuuichi shuffled his feet, waiting for the boy to speak, but when he made no indication of wanting to say anything, the winged boy opened his mouth to do so instead, "U-um..h-hello?" He hadn't realized how much talking made his throat hurt before, never having any reason to talk before. It was a wonder the words were even intelligible.

The lilac eyed boy giggled lightly, "Hey there! Come on, sit!" He beckoned, patting the area on the bed beside him. Shuuichi complied, placing himself onto the sheets as he watch the boy.

"What's your name? Mine's Kokichi!" Kokichi had swiftly gotten in Shuuichi's face, pressing their noses against each others and prodding at the others wings in interest. Dark magic was dripping off of him, and with Shuuichi's magic sensing abilities the corrupt type was overwhelming. 

"Shuu-Shuuichi..." He hesitated to answer, cheeks flushing at Kokichi's closeness. The actions felt extremely affectionate to the Alifer, almost like Kokichi wanted to kiss him. He shook that thought away quickly, a human -the Prince no less- would never willingly kiss something like him. His wings tried to flutter outwards in response to the affectionate thoughts in his mind, but Shuuichi forced them to stay stationary against his back.

"Shuuichi, huh? Pretty name for a pretty thing like you." Kokichi commented before closing the short distance between the two, lips softly against the Alifer's. The contact was cut quickly and the prince moved back a bit. Shuuichi stammered nonsensical strings of letters at that, replaying the chaste kiss in his mind.

"Anyways, that's not what we're doing here." The prince continued, "You wanna know why I brought you here, don't you?" 

Shuuichi nodded, half dazed, "Y-yes... Wh-why am I-I here, Pr-Prince K-Kokichi?" He questioned, voice nearly quiet enough to be a whisper. He couldn't bring himself to ask about the kiss, not quite sure if he had imagined it of not. Shuuichi flushed brighter.

"You know what humans used to do to your kind, right, Shuuichi?" 

He did, well, he knew the two most common things that had happened to those before him. Most were stripped of their wings and left to bleed out from the holes left in steed of the ruined appendages, others were kept as pets by families of rich noble households. Many years prior having an Alifer as a pet was used to project just how wealthy they had been, but even then, they had never been capable of having children in those conditions and were left to rot as toys for their owner. Shuuichi was certain these practices would still happen if Alifers were higher in number.

The winged boy confirmed Kokichi's question with a nod, still not sure what the prince wanted with him. He hazarded a few more words through the soreness of his throat, shifting as his wings ruffled on instinct, "Wh-what does that h-have to do with m-me?"

"You can't find the connection?" Kokichi frowned, tears pooling in his eyes, "I just w-wanted a pet, and Sh-Shuuichi won't even acknowledge th-that." The liquid that made it's way down his face stopped suddenly, a wide, predatory grin replacing the faux sadness he had displayed, "But that's okay, Shuuichi doesn't have a say in this at all!"

Shuuichi wasn't given a moment to protest, powerful magic clouding the room. He felt much weaker, dizziness racking his body. Nausea filled his head, he could barely think straight, the room was spinning, distinctive purples began looking the same and mending together. Through the overpowering sickness suffocating him, through the shaky purples, through the spinning room around him, one solidary thing remained the same. Kokichi. Kokichi stayed grinning, watching Shuuichi grasp his head between fingers that looked more oblong than they should've. Kokichi staying beside him, magic flaring, pounding sharply through the Alifer's mind. Kokichi stayed, slipping a thick band of leather around his neck, littered with enchantments Shuuichi wasn't lucid enough to name off. 

Kokichi stayed, marking the very moment that Shuuichi's routine of quiet peace wouldn't be able to exist anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Shuuichi had passed out somewhere along the lines of the magical nausea. When he had arisen, the sickness had lifted and the magic that had consumed him was waning. When he woke up, the room around him wasn't purple. The violet was replaced with cobalt and the lilacs with azure. A mirror with a silver frame was hung on the wall but other than the bed and aforementioned mirror the room was bare.

He took a moment to gaze into the mirror. He looked over the thin black shirt that wrapped around his body like a nightgown, it sat baggy over his frame, keeping his feather covered midnight black wings within the fabric. Then his eyes wandered to the strap tightly bound around his neck, Kokichi had put it on him, hadn't he? A myriad of enchantments, all of which were inactive, stuck to the collar, and due to their idle state Shuuichi couldn't detect what they were supposed to do. 

One of them, he could. The magic was so weak, barely using any power that it felt almost the same as the hidden magic did. A binding spell. Kokichi had bound the two of them to each other and from the small amount of magic used it didn't seem like he could go very far, maybe twenty-five yards at the most. That certainly wasn't good. It got even worse when he realized what kind of binding spell had been used. He didn't know the exact name but it was a dark magic rune typically used to sap at someone's soul, meaning that if he strayed too far from the prince, his own magic would start dulling and when he died there would be no afterlife, no chance of rebirth, no chance of Alumius, no chance of Zeociver, he would be gone forever and Kokichi would be the one who caused it.

That brought him to another problem, soul magic was outlawed and had long since been forgotten by humans. If Kokichi had access to such types of black magic, he could also have spells much worse enchanting the collar around Shuuichi's neck. Prince Kokichi could have anything on the collar and Shuuichi would have no way to remove it.

Along with that, he still wasn't quite sure what Kokichi wanted with him. The boy had said a pet, but as one of the kingdoms rulers Kokichi would have other, more important things he could be doing. More important than using illegal dark magic, anyways. 

Shuuichi frowned, heaving out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding in. Surely he could handle the prince, this really couldn't be that awful. Maybe Kokichi would take decent care of him and he wouldn't have to worry about humans wanting him dead anymore, this could be nice if he played his cards correctly. Then the more negative part of him chipped in, reminding the boy that Kokichi used magic on him that he had no right to know, that he had basically kidnapped him, that the prince was unstable in his personality. 

The winged creature wasn't quite sure he could do this anymore,

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Kokichi was sure he was sick of this.

Sitting in the throne room with his precious sister, listening to some of his childish subjects bicker about a problem they thought deserved the attention of both him and Ibuki. The princess seemed just as annoyed as he did at this audience and he was certain she wasn't even listening. He certainly wasn't paying attention to them, mind occupied by much more important thoughts.

Very important thoughts, like Shuuichi. Shuuichi was probably the most adorable thing he had ever seen. His face flushed so brightly whenever Kokichi was even remotely close to him, he had the sweetest little stutter, and his magic had been so delicate for an Alifer. His wings had been a bit smaller than most of his species had, and his canines were much sharper than needed as well, but that just added to the cuteness of Shuuichi. The appendages were black too, meaning their magics had to be similar. 

He could keep going but Ibuki clearly needed something to cheer her up. If the situation wasn't so dull he might've smiled as his plan, but smiling would make his subjects think he cared about their plight, which he truly didn't. The bickering prattled on and he really needed to save Ibuki because he would be a terrible brother otherwise.

Neutral magic slipped through his fingertips, invisible, strong, and leaking into the air. He was sure she could feel it, but commenting further would make the ranting nobility speak more than he needed to. He guided the magic to Ibuki's sides, softly prodding at the bit of chub she had there. A quiet giggle spilled from her lips and she held her hands firmly to her body like she expected it to stop the intruding magic. He brushed it against her midsection again, creating a soft, feathery feeling.

It took very little effort and the princess could barely contain the laughs bubbling within her throat. She didn't try to after another brush of magic. Ibuki erupted into loud, boisterous laughter, clutching at her sides. Kokichi smirked, part one, success.

Next step, he feigned worry for his older sister, going to her side and dispelling the magic, "Ibuki, are you okay?" He asked, "What happened?" Ibuki caught on very quickly, biting her lip to keep another set of giggles down.

"That was a curse, Kokichi!" She added urgency to her voice, "Someone tried to curse the super awesome Princess!" 

"Oh no, Sister! That's- We should retire to our rooms then." Kokichi suggested, "It'll be harder to get us there!" He tried to sound overdramatic on purpose, just so the nobles knew he was lying, they wouldn't dare call him out anyways, treason and all. His precious bodyguard, Maki, knew this routine by now, granted every time his mischief was made in different ways, but she was used to is all the same. 

"In that case, I'll have the guards secure the castle." She turned to the previously arguing nobles, "You should leave. Now. Lest you be thrown in the dungeon." Then she turned back to the royals, "Come, I'll protect you." Maki had warmed up to him somewhat. He remembered the first time he had done his around her and she had taken everything so seriously, she wouldn't let him leave his room until the supposed magic thief he pretended to sense had been caught. She had eventually given up after nearly a week of forcing the prince under house arrest.

Kokichi thanked his bodyguard and everyone residing in the throne room had quickly absconded.

He wondered if Shuuichi was awake yet.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dark magic made it's way closer to Shuuichi. Kokichi's dark magic presence that overpowered his senses neared the room he resided in. The collar reacted to the magic by dimming his own powers, tapping into Shuuichi's soul and hiding it away as Kokichi got closer. He guessed that was the overall job it had, messing with his soul and generally doing things that would've gotten any person other than Kokichi executed.

The door opened, Kokichi standing at the doorway looking cheerful as ever, "Good, my beloved pet is awake!" He got closer to Shuuichi, leaning against the taller boy, "Everyone else is so boring, Shuuichi!" Kokichi complained.

"Y-You used illegal magic on me." Shuuichi uttered, ignoring the burning feeling of red on his face and the fast paced beating of his heat.

"Huh, did I?" Prince Kokichi looked lost in thought for a moment, "So I did." He nodded in agreement. 

"Illegal m-magic, Prince K-Kokichi!" The Alifer repeated, "As in y-you can't use i-it!"

"Okay, but if I remember correctly the laws referring to magic use only say you can't use dark magic on humans." Kokichi argued, "Checkmate, my beloved. Wanna see what happens when you lose?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two published, mission complete! 
> 
> I really don't know how I finsihed this as quickly as I did, but it's done, so I'm content. 
> 
> Hope it lives up to your standards.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haven't slept in twenty-four hours, wanted to put a damn chapter up already, deleted what I had written already, wrote this.   
> I need to sleep already.

Shuuichi did not, he really, truly, did not want to know what Kokichi would do. His unwillingness to know would do little to stop his mind from flittering through a few possibilities against his will: Kokichi might actually kill him -Shuuichi was less ready to die than he wants to admit- or the prince might start chipping away at his soul, taking it away bit by agonizing bit, or he might activate another of the magic enchantments around the Alifer's collar. Whatever it was, losing, as Kokichi had put it, came with absolutely no good outcomes, not even a more neutral ending. 

Kokichi wouldn't care about what he thought. Shuuichi knew that that prince would do whatever he wanted with any fear of repercussions because no one was stupid enough to try punishing the literal ruler of their country of a pathetic creature like him,

The prince pushed his pet to the ground, taking a seat in front of him with a sweet smile, "Are you ready, my beloved?" It was rhetorical, no doubt, but Shuuichi shook his head in protest anyways, trying to think of an escape plan instead of suffering through whatever torture he would be put through. Kokichi didn't care for his denial, talons of more illegal magic gripping Shuuichi's body.

Shuuichi trembled as pure, unadulterated chaos corrupted his magical signature. It meshed into his core, Chaos seeped through his body, every part of him was stinging horribly. It was like being burned alive without the fire aspect, his flesh was beginning to sizzle, surface bubbling in a mix of the infiltrating magic and his own, nearly nullified, magic trying to rid his system of the sickening chaos. 

Chaos etched itself into his skin, rune-like marks melting into his arms. Each symbol was detailed and precise as the edges of each burn began to turn a crisp purple -Shuuichi was starting to hate that colour, chaos devouring the air around it as the gross mess of burning flesh holes revealed his muscle tissue. 

All of the magic had been pushed to his arms, crystals of ice flowing through Shuuichi's body to keep the chaos stationary.

Pinkish blood leaked from the burning runes and Shuuichi had drawn blood from his mouth while trying to resist the urge to scream, canines firmly sunk into his soft lips.

The chaos retreated, dissipating into nothing. Kokichi still wore his always present smile, taking in the patterns of destroyed skin with interest, "So that's what that spell does." He muttered to himself, then he grinned to Shuuichi, "What's it feel like, Shuuichi? Come one, tell me, tell me!"

The Alifer reluctantly offered an answer, wincing and grimacing in pain, "I-It h-hurts, a l-lot, and it's r-really hot and w-wet. E-Everything st-stings too." He was shaking, chaos magic was very potent, and Shuuichi didn't think Kokichi could do much worse than that. His magic reservoir was draining even after the fact, just to keep the offensive power from coming back. Luckily, his wings remained unaffected, but even that did little to make Shuuichi feel better.

"That's so cool!" Kokichi cheered, "I wonder if this next spell will be even better!"

"N-No! Pl-please, no m-more, I'm s-sorry, K-Kokichi, please n-no more m-magic." The taller begged, throwing himself in front of Kokichi in a very messy bow of submission. The rough carpet did little but shove its threads against his bloody wounds. 

Kokichi ran a hand through the other's navy hair, humming in thought like he was actually considering listening, "Fine," he stretched out the syllables, "no more magic today." Kokichi moved his fingers down Shuuichi's back, leaving a scratch with his nails, resting his hand over one of the Alifer's wings.

The appendages twitched, flicking outwards at the unwanted contact. Shuuichi's begging became more erratic and desperate, he couldn't let anything happen to his wings, it would kill him. He pleaded, tears brimming in his eyes as he tried to convince Kokichi not to touch his wings. 

"Calm down, Gods, I'm not stupid enough to kill you! That doesn't align with my goals right now." Kokichi delivered a flick to the appendages before leaving it alone entirely. Shuuichi squealed in pain, but Kokichi paid no mind to the pained noise as he continued talking, "What am I gonna do to you then, Shuuichi? You have to keep me entertained or I'll use more magic on you!"

With the threat looming over his head, Shuuichi panicked, blurting out the first harmless thing he could think of, "T-Talk! L-Let's talk!" Then he panicked more because he wasn't sure if Kokichi would even agree.

Nodding happily, Kokichi smirked, "Alright, let's talk." 

"O-okay, um.. y-you have two sisters, r-right? Can y-you tell me about them?" He suggested shakily, trying to remember what his mother had once told him of the royal family. There were three siblings, Ibuki, Kokichi, and their sister, whose name Shuuichi couldn't quite recall, only knowing it began with an M. Kokichi and Ibuki were twins, the former filled with black magic while the latter held white magic. M was older and had a special brand of magic. Blood magic, which was incredibly dangerous and nearly impossible to use, even with Elementa. Shuuichi couldn't feel any blood in the air (Except his own, actual blood) there was but a hint of her staining the air, nothing more. 

"I have one sister." Kokichi corrected sharply, quickly going back to his cheery persona, "You should know that already, but I guess you're kind of a stupid animal. I'll remind you then!" His eyes sparkled in faux excitement, "Her name's I-Bu-Ki! Ibuki! Her middle name's Mioda! Let's see, what else, she sings and makes music all the time, she has a phoenix named Leon, or something like that. She doesn't know I sto- er, she doesn't know I use chaos magic. Oh! And my personal favourite Ibuki fact, she sneaks into my bathroom, every single night, at exactly twelve twenty and turns on my shower!"

"What d-did you do she doesn't know? You didn't say the s-same thing the second time." Shuuichi questioned, before shrinking back, "Not th-that you have to answer, of c-course!"

"Aw, you're learning!" the prince cooed, "I might lie if I told you anyways!"

Shuuichi knew not how to respond to that, instead letting his eyes wander over the burns on his arms. He had seen these runes somewhere before. Piece by piece, like a puzzle, it came to him. In a book. A very specific book only he had access to, his mother's journal.


	4. Interlude I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have some pointless backstory. 
> 
> It shouldn't have taken this long to post, I wrote this whole chapter a week ago.

What are you supposed to do when your soul becomes split? 

Having half of a soul, missing an entire half of yourself, can't quite be compared to anything. Cutting an apple in half still leaves half of an apple, it is still an object that can be worth something. Half of a book can still be read, even if you never see the end. Most items, when split, are still useable. A soul isn't quite as simple.

There are factors; why is so much of the life force in your body gone; what is it being used for; what type of magic is taking it away; and what you are. Depending on the answers to these things, the soul will be affected in different manners.

Peko knows the answers to some of these factors. She couldn't tell you why or what it would be used as, but she knew the last two. Blood magic was the first. The oldest princess was using it, and Peko had little choice but to supply it. The royal had been so kind, treating her like any other human would be, even if she was a mere tool, a thing to be used. Then she was done with her, and the mask of care the girl held was gone, the princess was just gone. What she was being the other factor, was also a simply found response. Peko Pekoyama -Technically not her last name anymore, but she held onto the sentiment- was an Alifer. 

She knew that parading it around would do her nothing. Even if through history, her kind was nearly worshipped, it didn't matter. Peko didn't hold onto that far behind past. In another time, it would be nice, a sweet difference, much better than what existed for her now. But she knew it was nothing more than the past and she had to focus on the present. 

Maroon wings resting against her back, their tips fading to a light cherry colour. Peko closed her eyes and sighed, taking a moment to listen to the silence which contrasted her previous lifestyle sharply. 

Red eyes glanced around her surroundings. The little home, far away from anyone, had defied her expectations. She had originally thought that Fuyuhiko would have a rather large house, something that was close to anything really. Then he showed up with this quaint, cozy cottage and Peko had adored it. A beautiful garden surrounded it, filled with little critters -a few of which didn't run away from Peko- only increased her enjoyment.

She hadn't thought of Fuyuhiko in a while. Thinking of him now only served to dampen her mood. He was important to her, was being the keyword. Peko cleared her head of him, there were more important things to think about than him. 

Peko glanced at her belly for a moment.

Then she began to think of her original problem. Her soul wouldn't be able to handle this. She needed something.

o)0(o - - - o)0(o

Peko had begun writing a journal. It wasn't a standard journal, she didn't document her days, or things that were special to her. She wasn't telling her story, because Peko was an accessory and that meant her opinion was worthless. This wasn't for herself. 

She filled the pages of her book, not for herself, but for someone who was yet to exist. She wrote, and wrote, and sketched, trying to tell them everything, anything that might help. She wrote about what they would be, about the world they would exist in. She drew runes and told them what kind of magics were dangerous, even including a few of her own Elementa-made creations -no human still alive was foolish enough to make dark magic runes anymore. Peko wrote anything she could because she wanted them to be safe and to understand.

Then, on the front page, in a neat, stylized blue print, Peko added a single word, a name. Shuuichi.

The pen she held was set down beside the journal, but not before she wrote her own name in the bottom corner. Along with two other, simple words that she never quite expected to use. Peko, your mother.

Then she went back to her question. What does one do when they only have part of their soul? How is she supposed to protect her child when having them would be her death? 

Why did the world hate her so much? 

o)0(o - - - o)0(o

She lived. 

There were no other words that could be used, nothing she could express that would show how surprised and happy she was. Peko Pekoyama lived, and so did another. She cradled her tiny child in her arms, smiling lightly at the little Alifer. 

The midnight blue wings on his back twitched and batted around, the small Shuuichi wailed, making all kinds of noise.

Peko hushed him, holding Shuuichi close to her heart. 

How does someone live without their soul intact? Peko had asked herself that question, many, many times. She wondered over and over. Peko knows the answer now. All you have to do is make a deal with an awful person.

She found herself disliking the royal family a little more, but for now, it was okay. She had Shuuichi.

o)0(o - - - o)0(o

She hadn't touched it in a while. It sat neatly on the bookshelf, her child's name emblazoned on its front. A string of magic pulled it down and into her arms, rough leather against skin. 

She sat on a chair, picked up a pen, and pressed the writing utensil to paper. Peko put more information into the pages; soul-bonds, a few more recent events, finishing in with an apology. She confessed to the paper, bled ink into it about the deal she made, told the book what would happen after she died. 

Peko would admit to crying before she finished it, but in the end, it was tore from her journal. She ripped the page into small pieces, burning it in fire she had earlier conjured to warm the home. 

Her hands shook. She looked over Shuuichi, sleeping peacefully, unaware of his mother's turmoil. 

The journal found it's way beside him. Peko dried her tears, taking a long black bag into her hands. With a final glance at Shuuichi, she settled a sharp, dull glare on her face.

It seems like she never quite got over her old life as a weapon, but it was okay, Shuuichi would be safe.

Peko left her home, determination filling her.

o)0(o - - - o)0(o

The blade in her hands was old, worn even. It wasn't the shiny, sharp weapon she had used so many times before. It would have to do, she didn't want to chance running out of time.

Peko gripped the sword's handle, grasping it firmly between her fingers as she snuck closer to her target. 

No one had noticed her before she ran at them. The castle guards hadn't found her until it was too late to do anything. Peko hadn't been stopped before ramming her blade's tip into the king's throat, two of his children witness to their father's death. The dread and emotional pain that painted on their faces was the only thing stopping her from adding their blood to the carpet. 

The shock they showed was ultimately what made Peko drop her weapon to the ground, and the lance breaking through her skin was what kept her there.

**Author's Note:**

> Two multi-chapter fics? I can do that no problem. Ha ha. Just kidding I have no chance. Welcome to hell, future me.


End file.
